


They Don't Know About Us

by tenecty



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Non AU, and the phone call was cute so, bc i rewatched it, i got hooked onto them in one week, loosely based off the vlive ten did eons ago on his birthday, welp, worst decision ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-13 01:04:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16007048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tenecty/pseuds/tenecty
Summary: “It’s okay if they don’t know about us, they don’t know about the ‘I love you’s. What matters is that you know, that I love you "





	They Don't Know About Us

**Author's Note:**

> sakhdjsh im so in love with these two they are adorable and i love it when they flirt

“Oh, it’s Taeyong hyung,” Chenle says as he reaches to take the phone.

 

 _Oh?_ Ten can’t help the smile that spreads across his face as he watches the Dreams create havoc as they scream greetings to their leader. The noise probably confused Taeyong, because he’s still saying “hello” 20 seconds into the call. Ten suppresses a laugh, and with fluttering butterflies in his stomach, he stutters a hello back.

 

To be honest, he was a little upset that Taeyong couldn’t be with him for the last part of the day, to accompany him during the last few minutes of his birthday. He did spend the day with him though, dancing around, practicing, laughing, all smiles and love, and warmth spreads through Ten’s chest as he remembers the way Taeyong’s eyes shined when he whispered a happy birthday to him in the morning.

 

Still, he just wishes that Taeyong could be here with him too, spending every minute with him.

 

“I’m watching the vlive.” _Oh_. Ten bites back a smile, licking his lips in an attempt to stop himself from grinning mindlessly.

 

“First of all, Happy Birthday Ten!” Taeyong says through the phone, and Ten’s smile grows wider, his pretty eyes forming crescents as he hears the deep, comforting voice come through. “Thank you hyung!” He says giddily, his teeth on full display.

 

“Anyway, happy birthday. I saw _our_ Dreams dancing to BDS….”

Ten didn’t hear the rest of it, his ears ringing with the singular word ‘our’. _Us_. Together. One unit. Ten liked that.

 

The conversation flows a little hesitant, Taeyong fully aware that they were on vlive, in front of their managers and their fans, and the Dreams too. Some words can’t be said and he needs to be careful.

 

And in sticky situations like this, Lee Taeyong is always awkward beyond belief. Ten loves teasing him for it; the duality of Lee Taeyong; charismatic and confident on stage, but in reality, he was just a cute, socially awkward fluffball.

 

Ten plays along with the Dreams, using that high voice of his, cute and high pitched, knowing how much Taeyong loves it, how much self control it would take Taeyong to not say “I love you.”

 

Taeyong knows exactly what he’s doing, and challenges him right back. “Do you have nothing to say to me? Is there nothing you want to say?” Ten opens and closes his mouth, and it almost slips, but Chenle and Renjun are quick to save him, yelling random “happy birthday”s and “congratulations”.

 

There’s an awkward silence that follows, Taeyong, not really knowing what to say as he failed to tease Ten, but the conversation flows on as Ten takes the lead, displaying more and more aegyo, flirting with Taeyong, his eyes once again forming cute crescents, knowing full well that it would be enough to rile up Taeyong.

 

“But hyung,” Ten starts, deciding he should really say something to Taeyong. “Thank you for today.” _Thank you for the morning kisses, thank you for the date you planned for me despite your busy schedule, thank you for making me feel so special, thank you for loving me despite my many flaws._ Those were the unspoken words, and Ten hopes Taeyong can catch the meaning behind it all.

 

 _“_ No! I also watched that!” Taeyong abruptly changes the topic, and Ten chuckles a little, noting how cute it is, how Taeyong’s mind moves so fast, it’s hard to catch up sometimes. But Ten is used to it. He is used to Taeyong’s little quirks.

 

He is used to it all, it’s familiar, it’s _home_ , after all.   

 

“What?” Ten asks softly.

 

“Your interview. Why was I the only Mr Taeyong?” Ten laughs at this, and he could just picture the pout Taeyong had on his face.

 

_Because it sounded nice, a perfect way to put your name on a wedding invitation card._

 

“I just felt like it.” Ten says simply, knowing that no one could find a loophole or find fault in it. It was vague, as everything is, when it comes to anything with him and Taeyong.

 

“Ah, I see, Mr Ten!” Taeyong teases back, and Ten could just imagine the playful smile on his face, the pink that lightly dusts his cheeks. He bites back another huge smile.

 

“Mmhmm, I’ll see you again tomorrow?” Ten asks, hopeful. He can’t wait to see Taeyong again. Because of the difference in their schedules, Taeyong being so busy, writing, composing, practicing, leading, it was hard for them to sieve out time for each other. But Taeyong promised that he would make time for him tomorrow.

 

Just the two of them, Taeyong and Ten, Ten and Taeyong.

 

“Yes, starting tomorrow we have something on.” Taeyong says vaguely, knowing that he can’t reveal their schedule.

 

Ten hums back in response, and Taeyong ends the call, leaving Ten with a sudden craving for his voice.

 

Soon, the vlive ends, and Ten brings the Dreams back to the dorm.

 

He tucks them in, kissing them lightly on their foreheads. He then pads his way softly to the living room and packs the room slowly, enjoying the rare, quiet moments of the dorm, moonlight showering lightly into the room. He picks up the strewn clothes and throws them into the laundry basket; he then gathers the books and pens and place them in neat piles for the younger ones to snatch up before they go to school.

 

He then settles on the couch, plugging in his earphones, closing his eyes as he lets soft music flow through him, enjoying the very last few moments of his birthday with himself.

 

He thinks back on the last 22 years. He thinks of his father, his mother and his sister, the happy times they had in Bangkok. Then he thinks of his time in Korea. It has been a rocky one, and still is, albeit more smooth sailing.

 

The trainee days were the worst, and yet the best too. He thinks of the members, how he saw each and every one of them get added to the project, fitting together like a puzzle piece. He watched them, _us_ , grow up together, competing with each other on the door frame that is littered with markings of their heights. He smiles contentedly. He loves his 22nd birthday, how he was surprised and surrounded with the people he loves.

 

Then he thinks of Taeyong, how the boy had seemed ice cold, and yet underneath that all, he is full of warmth and love, never ending care flowing out of his body in a steady stream, as he took more and more boys under his wing, showering them with tender care and motherly affection that they all lacked during those lonely trainee days.

 

How the boy had seeped into his life so unconsciously, had become such a big part of his life that he never realised how much he needed the other, until he got separated from him when his knee injury relapsed. It was a depressing time, but then he remembers how Taeyong regularly checked up on him and those grey times are splattered with colours.

 

The regular checkups turned into regular sleepovers.

 

He loves to waking up to the smell of scramble eggs and pancakes and the chaotic noises the Dreams make when they see Taeyong in their kitchen, whipping up a huge breakfast for all of them. It was like a special treat.

 

Ten would lean against the door, and watch soft morning rays reflect on Taeyong’s glowing skin as the elder worked hard in the kitchen, a fond smile on his face as he patiently entertains the hyper Dreams. Taeyong would feed them, nag at them, and then kiss them on their foreheads, before sending them off to school.

 

And then one day, he turns around when the door is shut, and smiles softly at Ten, walking up to him and cupping his face gently, kissing him tenderly on the lips, before whispering a goodbye as he unties his apron.

 

He didn’t leave that day.

 

They were in a relationship, and NCT knew, of course, but no one else did. Definitely not SM, definitely not the public.

 

Sometimes, Ten wishes he could just tell everyone about it, and stop feeling so suffocated every time he wants to kiss Taeyong, but has to hold back because of the cameras or because of the staff. But this was what he signed up for, what he has to go through. For Taeyong, for him, for them.

 

The door softly clicks open, and Ten opens an eye, and seeing his boyfriend step in shyly. He unplugs his earphone, eyes wide open as he runs to him, throwing his arms around the other’s neck.

 

“You said you weren’t coming tonight.” Ten mumbles into Taeyong’s neck, placing a quick kiss there. Taeyong chuckles lowly into his ear, placing a peck on the helix piercing. “Do you want me to go back to the 127 dorm then?” The comment isn’t malicious of course, just a teasing tone that Taeyong loves to pull on Ten.

 

Ten pouts and rolls his eyes. “Go take a shower. You stink.”

 

Taeyong rolls his eyes and grins, walking towards Ten’s room, dropping his bag there, grabbing some clothes and entering the bathroom.

 

Ten flops onto the bed and scrolls through his phone mindlessly. But it gets boring, and Taeyong’s still in the shower, and it was 2am, so he shuts his phone off and his eyelids immediately drop, his long eyelashes fanning on his high cheekbones.

 

He’s too lazy to move when he feels the bed dip. He mumbles in his sleep tainted voice. “I’m sorry. Got tired.”

 

Taeyong shakes his head, smiling fondly as he crawls next to Ten, slipping under the covers, cradling Ten in his arms. The younger nuzzles his head into Taeyong’s neck. “You smell good. Like cotton candy.”

 

Taeyong exhales, suppressing a laugh. “Yea?” Ten simply hums in reply, snuggling closer, wrapping his arms around Taeyong's small, pretty waist. 

 

“You know, you should really stop acting cute on vlives. I almost said ‘I love you’.” Taeyong comments lowly, fingers absentmindedly carding through the soft platinum locks on Ten’s head. “Why didn’t you then?” Ten mumbles back, sighing a little. Taeyong sighs along, his fingers pausing and then move south to stroke Ten’s porcelain face. He wonders how the younger can look so ethereal all the time.

 

“You know why.”

 

“...Yea.”

 

“One day, maybe.” Taeyong mumbles as he lets his head sink into the pillow. “One day, maybe, I can say ‘I love you’ openly. You have no idea how much I want to scream to the world that you are mine.”

 

“Me too.” Ten says softly, a little more awake now, propping himself up to stare into Taeyong’s sad eyes.

 

He can’t bear to see the forlorn look on Taeyong’s face. So he does what he knows would cause it to vanish.

 

“I love you.” Ten whispers, pressing a kiss into Taeyong’s head. “It’s okay if they don’t know about us, they don’t know about the ‘I love you’s. What matters is that you know, that I love you. Okay, hyung?”

 

Ten doesn’t wait for a reply as he presses a fleeting kiss on Taeyong’s nose, peppering his flushed cheeks with kisses. Taeyong whines a little, hands wrapped around Ten’s neck, fingers threading through his hair, pulling him closer.

 

Ten laughs softly, skipping the lips in a pointed tease, trailing kisses down Taeyong’s milky white neck, sucking softly on the collarbone, muttering something about gods and perfect. Taeyong breathes out shakily. “Ten….”

 

“Okay, okay.” Ten relents, finally locking lips with Taeyong, exhaling contentedly as he feels the familiar velvety feel of Taeyong’s lips as they move against his. The teasing touches, the flick of a tongue, the light graze of his teeth against Ten’s chapped lips; it has Ten whining. Taeyong smiles, kissing down the column of Ten’s throat, enjoying the pretty sounds from Ten’s mouth.

 

 

“I love you, you know. I really do.” Ten says again when they both get tired out, placing a quick kiss on Taeyong’s swollen lips.

 

“I love you too. Always.”

 

“Always.” Ten mutters back, falling into slumber. Taeyong smiles, placing a sweet kiss on the other’s forehead, before closing his eyes.

 

They fall asleep in each other's arms.

 

And it feels like home.

  


Tomorrow, a new day, just like any other day. The Dreams will get their special treat again, and Ten will lean against the doorway again, enjoying how Taeyong basks in the morning light.

 

Repetitive, familiar, home, family, love. Everything Ten could ask for on his 22nd birthday. Everything.

**Author's Note:**

> i fell in love with eighteen boys within 7 days, someone save me


End file.
